Freehills and Clutz help Lend Lease expand

Lend Lease has purchased Valemus, the Australian arm of the German construction giant Bilfinger Berger, for just over $1 billion.Freehills advised Lend Lease, with Justin O'Farrell and Mark

Lend Lease has purchased Valemus, the Australian arm of the German construction giant Bilfinger Berger, for just over $1 billion.

Freehills advised Lend Lease, with Justin O'Farrell and Mark Crean leading the team.

Clayton Utz acted for Valemus, with Stuart Byrne, the head of the firm's equity capital markets team, Simon Truskett and David Landy involved.

"This deal is a fantastic one for lend Lease," O'Farrell from Freehills said. "This makes it Australia's second largest construction outfit and plugs a significant gap in Lend Lease's infrastructure capability."

Final approval for the deal will be decided by Australian regulatory bodies.

This deal brings some good news for Clayton Utz in its dealings with Valemus, whose chairman is the former NSW Premier, Nick Greiner, as its planned $1.3 billion float was canned earlier this year.

Stuart Byrne also led the firm's team on that proposed transaction, which included up to 18 partners.

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